There are a lot of memories that come along with this bike. Two things occurred on this bike that had profound effects on my life. I was around 17 years old and Don Buckingham invited me to go with him to Brutons Branch and ride one weekend. Back then one could ride all day on the trails at Bruton's and never cover the same one twice. Don was a little older than I was and already a seasoned rider and racing in competition events. I was thrilled that he would invite me to go riding with him, and it may have been my first of many trips to Brutons. I don't remember for sure what he was riding, I think it was a 125cc DKW which I hope to talk more about sometime. Whatever he was riding, we rode that day as I had never ridden before. At the end of the day, I was so tired when trying to load my bike, I fell off the trailer, bike and all. Don was kind enough to load it for me, I was really that exhausted.
This could have been partly due to a small malfunction I had with the bike. I had removed the lighting on the bike to make it more trail-worthy, however, I had left the wiring in place. Some of the electrical wiring going to the rear tail light came loose and became grounded to the bike's frame. When we came to water crossings and the bike became submerged, that electrical ground would give me a shock as the engine magneto charged with the engine rpm. It was so intent I began having leg cramps I couldn't understand, I finally realized what it was by noticing it was every time I would cross a creek. I got Don's attention and we removed the electrical ground, but not before some serious shocks to those leg muscles.
Two things followed, I realized that day I enjoyed riding to the extent that I was going to commit myself to it. And that commitment would create a conflict that would trouble me for nearly two decades. I had also committed my life to Christ at 13, I was now 17 and I was being challenged in my faithfulness. I remember when I told my Mom I was going riding that Sunday with Don, she questioned me, “David, what about Church”? I remember the prick I felt in my conscience, but this was so important to me. I had to choose that day what was most important to me. I did, and it bothered me. I was able to put it aside and forget about it pretty soon. However, after that day, I had to keep making that choice over and over again.
I understand going to church doesn't make anyone better than someone else, it is simply what Christians do. They enjoy being together especially on the Lord's day for worship.
"Act 2:46 The believers shared a common purpose, and every day they spent much of their time together in the Temple area. They also ate together in their homes. They were happy to share their food and ate with joyful hearts." (ERV)
It's not about being good, it's about the Lord's Day. It is called the Lord's Day, not David's Day. Our nation used to take this seriously, that is why there was a thing called the blue laws. As our heart grows cold, our devotions wane. Today Sunday is just another day for ourselves for the most part. Mow our lawn, play at river and party, and a hundred other ways to amuse ourselves. There are times our jobs and life, in general, keep us from Sunday Worship. But this was simply me desiring something more than my commitment to Christ and my local Church.
Over the years as I began racing, I would try to compromise and reconcile the two together. I tried attending Churches near the tracks where we raced. I would find whatever church was closet to the track regardless of the flavor and stop for the morning service and then out to the track. One of the churches started calling us their motorcycle friends. Sometimes I would have to miss practice depending on how far out the church was. This little bit of sacrifice helped pacify my conscience to some degree, but I knew I was not being faithful to my local church. Years later I would even try making gospel tracks and distributing them at the race. I suppose this may have looked pious to those who knew me, but it was only an effort to soothe my stinging conscience.
I discovered I was not the only one troubled with this conflict within the sport. Steve Wise was a professional racer who had won the Superbikes race on ABC's Wide World of Sports. He had become a Christian and started a ministry having Bible studies at races. One year he was at the Amateur Nationals and Julie and I attended his meeting. I asked about how we should deal with this issue of racing on Sunday and staying faithful to our local church. Several at the meeting expressed their concerns as well. He struggled with his answer for a few minutes, then finally conceded that it was very difficult to do.
It seemed he may have made an impact upon the sport, for a time a few stepped up to the plate and began having prayer and speaking a few words of exhortation on Sunday mornings before the race. I even notice now that the boys on TV are mentioning the Lord or the Man up Stairs in their interviews. Apparently, someone is trying to minister and provide some type of fellowship within the sport. The things of this world will continually test us in our commitments to Christ. I won many trophies over the years, only to finally haul most of them to the dump and throw them away. What I thought was so important at first, turned out to be nothing more than a trip to the dumpster in the end. I did keep a few, they are stored in the attic, guess I still couldn't let go of it completely.
The Lord was gracious to me during this time, though he pricked my conscience, yet he still used this time of my life to create life long friendships with people I would have never have met otherwise. I am grateful to Bathsprings Raceway for their effort to race on Saturday night. I remember one rider who had given up racing because he had become a Christian and did not want to miss being at his local church. But he would come and bring his family and race at Bathsprings Raceway. Bath springs gave him an opportunity to enjoy the sport he loved and gave me a chance to see someone faithful to their commitment.
Thanks for reading and hopefully you found something encouraging,
David
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